Air Disasters and Other Problems with Travelling
by S.Hagen
Summary: Kei and Yuri find themsevles in the middle of a tense hostage situation, through no fault of their own. Neither of the Trouble Consultants plans on sitting there and letting the terrorists do as they please.


**Kei and Yuri  
Lovely Angels/Dirty Pair**  
in  
**Air Disasters and Other Problems with Travelling**  
by Shawn Hagen(1995;2005) 

Cevelson was a medium sized planet that had little to offer, except for its rich forests that covered the surface of the temperate world. The forest was the habitat for several valuable species of plant life.

There was only one city on the planet, Cevelson Prime. It was an almost fully enclosed Arcology. The vicious wildlife that had inhabited the planet made such enclosure necessary for the safety of the city's populace.

It was built on fifteen different tiers, each a small city unto itself. The bottom tiers held the heavy industry, dedicated to processing the plant life taken from the thick forests. Above the bottom tiers were the administration buildings, above those the housing and shopping districts.

The top two tiers served the tourist trade: beautiful hotels, theatres, expensive shops, the travel agencies that provided safaris into the forests, and a hundred other similar industries. The roof held the planet's main spaceport. It was where small spacecraft and space planes put down; larger ships used the landing pads that surrounded the city.

People were always leaving and arriving. There were people taking the chance to stretch their legs and breathe a planet's air while their ships stayed in orbit for re-fuelling. There were the people who had arrived, and those that had come to meet them. There were the people who were leaving, and the people who had come to see them off. There were even those people that just came to the terminals to watch the ships take off and land. Through this crowd two young ladies made their way towards boarding terminal number six.

One had long, black hair, held from her face with a lime green ribbon that matched her blouse. She wore a knee length skirt of dark blue silk, her black slippers had small blue ribbons on them. Her dark blue jacket covered the rail pistol she wore in a shoulder holster. She smiled easily, and often had a kind look, or word, or apology for the people they passed.

Her companion was a redhead who was slightly taller than her dark haired companion. She had her hair brushed out full, tied off with a small black ribbon and pulled over her right shoulder. She wore loose black pants, a white blouse, and a faded brown leather jacket that covered her rail pistol. A pair of low-heeled, black, leather boots clicked sharply against the floor of the terminal as they entered. Her brown eyes held a slightly predatory cast to them that could be used to make people feel very uncomfortable. Today that was hidden behind the warmth of humour.

"So what did they say when you called them?" Kei asked as she pushed a loose strand of red hair from her face.

"Well first they wanted to know how we got from Landsgreen to Cevelson without our ship," Yuri answered then stopped as she turned her head to track a young man who passed them, when he disappeared she continued. "Then after only part of my explanation they didn't want to know anymore."

"Did they say what was happening on Landsgreen?"

"Something about planet wide water contamination but the Central Computer has cleared us."

"Of course, it wasn't our fault. Do you think they'll mind that we sort of killed Calnhiem?"

"No doubt the 3WA will be slightly peeved. And how do you 'sort of kill' someone?"

Kei choose to ignore Yuri's question deciding it didn't rate an answer, even if she had one.

"So where's the Angel now?" Kei asked instead of answering.

"It's aboard the Valkryie, a heavy transport that's in orbit for the next six hours."

"Are we taking a commercial flight up top?"

"No." Yuri smiled. "I arranged a private space plane for our use. We're good to go."

"Great, no chance of a screaming baby express."

* * *

Flight 5XC2 put down on runway four, riding down on AG units and then taxiing close to the terminal to off load its two thousand passengers and cargo.

The space plane was huge, the biggest model that was permitted to land on the spaceport. Its loud engines were cycled down as the pilot touched the parking breaks and rolled the plane to a stop.

Everything had gone perfectly and the plane's pilot was beginning to relax. He was not ready for the woman who crashed into the cockpit, shot his engineer with a very large rifle, and then told him to seal the plane.

Throughout the craft other people brought forth weapons from shielded carry on bags. Within moments they had complete control of the craft and the people on it.

* * *

Inside terminal six Felston waited patiently as the large space plane slowly taxied into place. He scanned the area, taking notice of his people, pleased to note that everyone in their proper places. They were professionals. Professionals doing their job well always made him happy.

Talishia, wearing the coveralls of a maintenance worker, had just tapped into the terminal's housekeeping computer. He brushed a strand of his long, brown hair from his eyes and then put on his mirrored glasses.

He was a tall man, with the build of someone who worked out a lot. He would have been called handsome, but for the long scar that ran from left temple to right ear. It was obviously an important scar to not have it removed. He wore a grey suit, a white shirt and a tie that came close to matching the hazel colour of his eyes. He stood still and let the crowd wash around him, untouched by it.

A small beep came from the gold stud he wore in his left ear. Show time, he thought, pushing his jacket cuff back to reveal the slightly bulky computer he wore on his left arm.

His companions began to bring out their weapons. Guitar cases were opened to reveal rifles and ammunition. From carry on luggage came submachine guns and pistols. One young lady took a minigun from the baby carriage she had been pushing. Talishia sealed off the entire terminal, rolling the blast shields down across the entrances and exits.

Felston touched a button on his computer activating the directional mike. His people had already placed the small and powerful speakers around the terminal. He wanted his audience to hear him.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. You are all now hostages of the Society for Better Government. If you all stay calm I won't have to kill many of you to set examples for the others. Just to prove to you I'm serious, one little example." He drew his pistol in a single, smooth motion, firing it as his arm reached full extension in the blink of an eye. The single shot took a middle-aged man square in the chest, knocking him off his feet and nearly two meters back.

"I didn't particularly enjoy that," he continued, as if he was talking of a meal he had just eaten. "I'd really hate to have to kill more of you but I will. You are all superfluous. The plane that just landed contains two thousand people who are my hostages as well. It also holds enough explosive to destroy the spaceport and possibly the two tiers under it, we aren't quite sure I'll admit. We couldn't get exact data, I'm sure you understand. Just for the record the explosives are not nukes. We may be maniacal terrorists, but we are environmentally friendly maniacal terrorists.

"There are also several EMP generators on board which will of course have some nasty effects on any unshielded electronics within a three hundred kilometre radius. I myself would certainly hate to be dependent on any such equipment at this point." He smiled brightly. His people remained stoic, their weapons sweeping the crowd.

"Now I'm sure you would all love to know why I'm doing this. Is it because I grew up in a home without love, or didn't get the guidance I needed as a child? Of course not. That's why I enjoy doing this, but its not why I'm doing this.

"The SBG's glorious and very cute leader, Miho Sakana, has been captured and is being held in this city by the special police forces of the tyrannical United Galactica. We want her back. If she's not here in thirty minutes there is going to be a rather large and damaging explosion. I hope you understand I bear none of you any ill will and this is not personal. So relax, read a book, get a complimentary drink, but don't try anything stupid." He smiled again and slid his heavy revolver back into its shoulder holster. The people in the terminal just stood where they were, stunned by the events that had unfolded around them.

That was except for several of them.

* * *

Anita Redson sat behind her large steel and glass desk, listening to Felston's broadcast. He had come over several specific and supposedly secure channels. It was obvious that he had wanted her to be among the very first to know.

She was a middle-aged woman, though she looked younger, and was very attractive. Her black suit was slightly wrinkled; the skirt had ridden up to mid thigh. On the suits lapel was a small Special Police Force badge. Her blue eyes were slightly clouded, her light brown hair chopped short and spiked. She had a resigned look on her face as Felston made his demands.

"Chief!" Sam yelled as he came through her office doorway. He was young and showed it. He wore a black suit, the jacket similar in cut to hers. His long lavender hair was tied back in a ponytail. She had no idea what colour his eyes were; they were hidden behind a set of mirrored lenses bonded to his face. "At the space port..."

"I already heard," Anita cut him off as she took a rose from the vase on her desk and inhaled the fragrance.

"What are we going to do?"

"Nothing." She reached down, dropping the flower, and pulled her skirt back over her knees.

"But the hostages."

"Two thousand on the plane, maybe three or four thousand in the terminal. City officials are all ready evacuating the four levels below the spaceport and shields are being set up against the EMP. The body count will be below ten thousand. Do you know how high it will be if Miho manages to get loose?"

"But..."

"No buts. We don't negotiate with terrorists, end of story. I will not free Miho."

"This will be bad PR," Sam said softly.

Anita almost laughed, almost.

"No doubt but once the explosives are set off there won't be much evidence left. We'll say that we were negotiating with Felston and his terrorists but they were too trigger happy, or something like that."

"Do those people up there have a chance?"

"No, SBG is full of fanatics, Felston has to be one of the worst."

* * *

Kei and Yuri both knew they had heard a death sentence. There was no way SPF would release a prisoner. And it would take hours for a higher authority to countermand them.

They also knew the SBG would go through on its promise. They had had prior experience with the terrorist group.

Both knew they were dead if they waited, and death was a possibility if they did something.

"Well?" Yuri asked.

"Can we get out of here?"

"If I had a hot deck, time to use it undisturbed, and then a way to put some serious distance between us and the explosion."

"Not likely is it."

"No."

"If I go it's on my own terms," Kei said flatly.

"Better as a tigress than a lamb," Yuri said softly, but her expression and stance suggested something dangerous.

Kei looked around and pointed to a man about a hundred meters from them. His position had a clear line of sight to every one of the terrorists they had so far seen.

Yuri nodded and indicated the woman with the minigun. She was closest to Kei's target and would be the one most likely to provide fire support.

"Who do you think would have the trigger?" Kei asked.

"The talker." Yuri told her.

"Agreed. Do I kill him?"

"Yes, wait." Yuri thought about it "No, wound him, badly. He has probably hooked the trigger into his arm computer so we need him living, for a little while. Take the opposite arm off if you can."

"You'll cover me while I take aim."

"Once he's down we do the rest."

They nodded then slowly began to make their way close to their targets.

* * *

Kei slid between several people as she closed on her target, waiting until she was a few meters away. The groups of people would provide a partial blind for her to work with. Everyone had drawn away from the terrorists, making the terrorists stand out: So much the better for her.

He was a middle-aged man with an automatic shotgun. He caught a flash of red and turned his head in time to take Kei's elbow in his face. He stumbled back; Kei took his weapon and drove the stock against his skull with bone shattering force.

* * *

Yuri came up behind the woman with the minigun just as she turned towards the disturbance Kei was creating in dispatching her man. Yuri jammed her pistol against the woman's back and fired. She caught the falling body.

Time for a bit of a diversion, she thought as she reached around for the minigun.

The weapon's harness was locked to the woman but that didn't stop Yuri from firing it. She aimed over the crowd at the one terrorist who had taken a position up on a catwalk.

* * *

Felston's hand snapped towards his arm computer, about to touch the trigger when he saw what was happening. Jade was fighting with a woman over her weaponso it appeared to him. One of the sheep had shown some backbone, he thought. Pity he would have to kill her, and several others, to properly cow the crowd. The problem should be taken care of momentarily. He had a sniper up on a catwalk above the crowd.

He did not know the man was already quite dead.

* * *

Kei had almost fired in panic when the shooting started and the talker had gone for the computer on his arm. Then the man had relaxed, hand moving away from the computer. She was not sure why but she did not waste time in questioning her luck. Taking careful aim, controlling her breathing, she gently squeezed the trigger until the weapon fired. Felston's right arm was taken from his body by the heavy slug. Kei decided he was wounded enough for the moment.

Now she could take out the rest, assuming Yuri could keep their attention.

* * *

Yuri spun the woman's body in front of her to shield herself from the incoming fire. The vest under the woman's dress absorbed most of the projectiles but a few made it through her body to hit Yuri with bruising force.

She dropped into a crouch, letting the body fall, and then sprinted along the wall of windows that looked out on the runways. She heard projectiles ricocheting off the thick glass; she felt the heat of a laser as it burnt through her jacket and blouse to blister her right shoulder.

Yuri spun on one leg, sliding slightly, levelling her pistol at one of the terrorists. The depleted uranium flechette punched through the woman's skull, spraying the unlucky people behind her with blood.

As Yuri let her momentum carry her back into a run she noticed another terrorist go down. Kei was doing her part.

* * *

How many shots left Kei wondered as she fired again, hitting a man full in the chest. Even with the armoured vest he wore the force of the heavy slug was enough to snap his sternum and crush his heart.

If she had counted right there were about three more terrorists left in the terminal. If the shotgun had been fully loaded, and was not a variant model, she had about four shots left.

Most of the crowd was lying on the ground, presenting as little of a target as possible. The few who were up didn't present much of a problem to Kei.

She targeted a man with a laser rifle, who was standing conveniently still as he tried to draw a bead on Yuri. She aimed at his head even while she was squeezing the trigger.

Two left she thought.

As she looked for her next target Kei saw that she had become a target herself. She saw the muzzle flash an instant before she felt the projectile crease her elbow.

She aimed. Another shot smacked into the floor in front of her, the shrapnel of tile cut into her lower right leg.

His next shot whistled by her ear. Her next shot almost took his head off his body.

* * *

The crowd was beginning to panic, but they still gave Yuri a lot of room. Not too many people wanted to be in the line of fire. She had noticed that the gunfire had almost ceased. Kei must be doing a good job. She hoped she was.

Yuri was just about to circle a crowd of people who couldn't decide which way to run when a woman in a maintenance uniform leapt from their midst, brandishing a large knife.

Yuri felt a burning sensation as the blade sliced across the fingers of her weapon hand, cutting to the bone.

The knife wielder reversed her cut and slammed the blade's pommel against Yuri's wrist. Yuri heard the crack of bone; she couldn't keep the pistol from being knocked out of her grasp.

"Shit," Yuri hissed as she leapt back from a knife sweep.

The woman forced her back, pushing with a series of quick slashes. Yuri tried to maintain her balance as she backed up to avoid the vicious blade.

Going on the offensive Yuri snapped a kick at the woman's solar plexus. Her kick was blocked and felt the knife as it slashed through her calf. It all happened so very fast.

Forced back into the defensive, and slowed by the leg wound, Yuri had not other options but to block the knife. Soon her forearms were covered in slashes and her jacket in tatters.

A momentary lapse in attention, a second spared for a ridiculous thought about the destruction of her favourite blouse, cost her.

The knife slid between ribs. She felt the burning sensation around the wound; the pain almost locked her up. She forced herself to control her panic and leapt back and away from the knife.

Her hand pressed against the wound, she felt her blood running between her fingers. How deep, she thought. Had it cut lung? A sucking chest wound would be her death at this point. Not the time to worry about it, she told herself, preparing for the woman's next attack. Pierced lung or not, she had a much more immediate concern to deal with.

* * *

Kei sighted on the last man as he was running towards the triggerman's body. She suspected that he intended to blow the plane. She took him down before he got within twenty meters of the man.

And that's all she thought as she looked around for Yuri. She turned in time to see Yuri leap away from a woman, to see the blood spilling from her friend.

She brought the shotgun to bear but then Yuri was in her way, blocking her shot.

* * *

Yuri stopped the next slash, and then spun inside the woman's guard. If she recovered fast enough she would be able to drive the blade into Yuri's unprotected throat.

The 3WA agent drove her elbow up and into the woman's chest. She smiled as she heard bones snap, as the knife hand spasmed and the knife fell to ring out against the floor.

She spun away from the woman, built up speed, and slammed a kick into her jaw.

Yuri watched as the terrorist's head snapped back and she collapsed to the floor. Yuri pressed her hand against the wound in her side and fought off the urge to pass out.

"Yuri!" Kei came running up to her. "Are you all right?"

"About as well as can be expected."

"That bad huh?" Kei said.

"Come on I want to check out the trigger." Yuri set off towards Felston. She was not having too much difficulty breathing; maybe the knife had not done that much damage.

"Hey, wait up," Kei yelled as she ran after Yuri, stopping for a moment to pick up Yuri's handgun.

Yuri got down on her knees by Felston's side, careful not to kneel in the blood that was now flowing sluggishly from what was left of his arm. She pulled his good arm towards herself to examine the computer.

"Here." Kei handed Yuri her pistol as she knelt beside her.

"Thanks." Yuri absently pushed the pistol into a jacket pocket. She called up the small computers task manager and read what it was doing. "Oh shit."

"What?" Kei turned to look at Yuri whose fair skin was so pale it was almost white, which might have just been due to loss of blood.

"This thing is monitoring his pulse and other things."

"You think he'd have it hooked to blow if he died?" Then Kei thought about it. He was a fanatical terrorist of a group that was considered to be extreme when it came to fanatical terrorists. "Stupid question."

"Go, get everyone off that plane." Yuri said as she released the catches on the wrist unit. Moving quickly, she removed the unit from his wrist and put it on her own. She felt something prick her arm, most likely the monitor probe.  
"What are you going to do?"

"Keep this thing busy as I can. You'll have at least ten minutes." Yuri looked at the monitor. The readings stabilized but the computer was suggesting that she get to a hospital soon. "Go." She said again.

Kei nodded, then stood and ran towards the windows.

"Some one get this place unsealed." Kei yelled as she pushed through the crowd.

She reached the dead woman with the minigun. Pulling the weapon from the body's grasp she lifted it and the body up.

The windows were very thick and strong but Kei hoped that they could not stand up to the weapon. She pulled the trigger doing her best not to think of the heavy projectiles bouncing back at her.

The glass exploded out as the armour piercing rounds hit it. Kei sprayed back and forth until she had opened a good-sized hole.

Letting the weapon go she leapt from the window. The drop was a bit over four meters. She hit the ground and rolled, absorbing the shock of the landing. She got her feet under her and started running.

* * *

The huge windows of terminal six were not visible from the plane so the terrorists had no idea of what was going on. Radio contact was supposed to be minimal and the lack of any news from inside the terminal was no reason for alarm.

Kei had no way of knowing that. For all she knew the terrorists aboard the plane were about to set off the explosives or they might be waiting for her.

She rounded the corner of the cargo-handling wing to see the plane. All the hatches were sealed except for one near the tail of the large space plane. A set of boarding stairs was near the hatch, almost hooked into place. She thanked whatever powers were looking out for her and sprinted towards the stairs.

Kei noticed the security forces that were beginning to mobilize, but they were not a threat to her yet. It would be almost comical if a member of the spaceport's security or one of the city's police officers shot her.

She reached the stairs and went up them in a very low crouch. In the back of her mind she noted the pain as her shins banged against the stairs but it didn't distract her from watching the hatch.

A terrorist stepped into the doorway and fired. Her shot went over Kei's head, smacking into the plascrete below. The heavy flechette from Kei's pistol took the woman in the neck, shattering the cervical spine.

Kei hit the woman before she fell, using the body as cover. Behind her was an armed man. He did not seem to know what was happening. Kei did not give him a chance to figure that out and fired before she and the body hit the floor.

The man was knocked back as the projectile tore into his stomach. He hit the grey wall behind him and slid down, leaving a trail of blood.

Getting to her feet she pulled the plasma rifle out of his hands. It was a cut down model set for wide dispersal. She looked up into the eyes of two flight attendants.

"Take the weapons, get everyone off this plane," she told them and then turned around and headed to the cockpit. She reset the plasma rifle for a tight dispersal pattern.

There were not many terrorists aboard. The passengers and flight crew had been cowed by the threat of the explosives.

Kei found the next terrorist three sections further in. He was quick and fired the second she entered the section. Kei dove across the aisle, a moment to late. She felt something take her in the abdomen on the right side. She returned fire, hitting him in the left shoulder.

He fired again, on full auto. Kei rolled, ignored the passengers' screams, the graze that parted the skin on her thigh, took aim at his head, and fired. His head actually seemed to explode as the super heated plasma boiled the blood in his tissues.

Kei got up and started running again. She yelled at another group of flight attendants to get everyone off the plane.

She caught three terrorists in the first class section by surprise as they were drinking. Setting the weapon to maximum dispersal she hit all three, the chairs around them, and the wall behind them with one shot.

Tossing the rifle aside Kei drew her pistol again, leapt up the stairs, and dove into the short access way that led to the cockpit. She came up crouched, in the open doorway.

A woman was holding a pistol to the captain's temple. "Drop it," she yelled.

"Right," Kei said sarcastically as she fired.

The woman's gun fragmented as Kei's shot passed through it and then her head. Some of the fragments had cut into the captain's face but the wounds were superficial.

"Open this plane up. Get everyone off." Kei ordered.

The co-pilot complied and began touching controls on the instrument panel. The captain slumped down to the floor, a glazed look in his eyes. The outer cockpit hissed open and an inflatable slide began to deploy.

"Are you all right?" The co-pilot asked as he helped her to her feet.

"I'll live." Kei looked down at the wound on her side. Blood was flowing out of it, probably a lot of internal bleeding she thought as she pressed her hand against it. "It could be worse."

"How?"

"Well, I'm not dead from massive internal haemorrhaging yet. That's good."

"Slides fully deployed," the co-pilot told her.

"Good. Now get out."

Kei watched as the co-pilot grabbed the captain and left. She grabbed the body of the dead terrorist and dumped her out the door and then tossed the dead engineer out as well.

Kei took the command seat and began to power up the ship. "Tower requesting priority clearance, verification code seven, tango, charlie, niner, alpha. I'm broadcasting a flight plan, clear all air traffic from it and warn space control that this thing is going to be in their lap." Kei tapped the necessary controls to program the autopilot and transmit the data.

"Roger." Kei heard over the com. "Clearance is given, get that bird out of here."

"Already done," Kei said, feeling the plane begin to move as the engines powered up.

Kei got to her feet, stepped through the hatch, and slid down the ramp.

* * *

Yuri set to work on keeping the computer occupied. She had bought only seconds by switching the monitors to herself. The computer was capable of running a blood type analysis and identifying DNA markers. It was part of the security. Once it tagged that she was not the proper user Yuri had no doubt it would trigger the explosives. She had to get the computer working on other things, to overload its processors and memory, so it would not be able to run an analysis of her blood.

She began to call up all its functions as fast as she could. She used its com modem to tap into a library database and began to fill its memory. She started it calculating Pi, an oldie but a goodie when it came to occupying a computer's recourses. She noted the sound of the mini gun and exploding glass but did not let it distract her.

It became a race of sorts. Yuri trying everything she could to tie up the computers processor while it began to create sub routines to handle what she was doing. It was much more sophisticated than she had thought and it was giving her a hard time.

She was able to get enough of a lead on it that she took a moment to look about. She reached down and yanked the interface cable from the terrorist's neural socket and slid it into her own, with one hand while the other continued to work. She found it somewhat distasteful and wished she had taken the time to wipe the neural jack off.

The wound on her side had stopped bleeding, but was beginning to hurt. She noticed her slight difficulty in breathing. She was kneeling in a puddle of blood, hers and the terrorist's. Yuri was dizzy, felt faint and wanted to throw up. Not a good day she thought as she began writing programs to keep the computer busy.

She could hear shouts as people identified themselves as planetary security, the yells of paramedics as they began to work on the wounded. Her fingers continued to tap the few keys while she fine-tuned everything through the neural jack a thousand times faster.

She had all ready tried to shut down the monitoring and firing programs, but they were hard wired into the system and there was not much she could do. The strain was beginning to tell and Yuri was not sure she could hold out for very long. She thought she could hear the rumble of engines in the distance.

Yuri did not notice the three security personnel that approached her. The lieutenant, an older woman, looked around at the mess, looked at Yuri and the body she was kneeling by and wondered what was going on.

"What the hell are you doing?" the woman demanded after a few seconds. Yuri spared a quick glance up then looked back to the computer. "I asked you a question," the Lieutenant said loudly as she moved closer to Yuri, her assault rifle held ready.

"In my left inside pocket," Yuri said distractedly, "my ID."

When it became clear that she was not going to expand on that the lieutenant got down beside Yuri and reached into her jacket. Yuri ignored the jostling and continued to confuse the computer. The lieutenant pulled out a thin, small leather folder. She flipped it open and looked at the ID card therein.

She read no further than the 3WA part and then pulled out her portable computer and ran the card through its verifier. The chip in the card was the real thing. She touched her com headset and called her commander.

* * *

Major Forest was not a happy man. He had about twelve dead terrorists, he was not sure what the civilian count was yet, and one of his lieutenants had just called him about some new disaster.

He stocked up to the woman, his assistants following him.

"What the hell is going on here?" the woman handed him a card. He read it. He swore loudly. Then he calmed down and bent down beside Yuri. "What the hell are you doing here and I don't give a damn if you are 3WA."

Yuri checked her work. She had gained on it again and had a small edge.

"This computer is set to detonate the explosives on that plane when its owner dies. That has all ready happened but I switched it over to myself. Right now I'm trying to keep it from analyzing my blood and concluding that I am not its owner. If that happens it will blow the explosives. Figure it out." She focused her complete attention on the computer once more.

"Satoo," he called, standing up. "What do you think of this?" he asked his technical advisor.

"She's probably right," the big man said. "I suggest you don't disturb her."

"Fine, get a med tech over here before she dies," he told the lieutenant.

* * *

Zack Fass was a young man and one of the best emergency med techs in the city. He ran to the small group of people as soon as he got the call. He pushed through the small crowd and stopped as he saw Yuri. He forced himself to calm down and took a second look.

Lots of blood but most of it was not hers. Pale but her skin looked like it was normally so. She was possibly in the first stages of shock but not that bad. He crossed to her and knelt beside her, ignoring the blood.

"So how are we today?" he asked pleasantly.

Yuri gave him a scathing look. Zack laughed softly as he pulled out his medical scanner and ran it over her. He made a disapproving sound as he read the information.

"You should be in a hospital." He looked up from the readout.

"Well that's just not a option." Yuri's voice was soft.

"No, I suppose not." He opened up his kit.

Yuri felt him cut away her jacket and blouse to expose the wound in her side.

Zack took another look at his scanner, Pleural lining pierced but not lung. He placed a seal over the wound then hooked a suction pump to the one-way valve and pumped some air out of the chest cavity.

Yuri nodded as her breathing grew easier.

He dealt quickly with the rest of the wounds, spraying a coagulant on them before applying dressings. He took out two stimulant patches and looked at the bright red lettering that marked them.

"Any problem with drugs?" he asked.

"Not really." Yuri didn't look up from the computer.

"If I put these on you'll crash in about two hours."

"In two hours it won't make much of a difference."

"True." He placed the two patches on either side of her neck, over the carotids.

The drug worked fast. Yuri could feel the effect almost instantly. The fatigue flowed out of her, the pain decreased and she felt as if she could keep up the work on the computer for hours. She knew it was a false feeling, and she knew the danger of giving into it, but she allowed herself to ride the high. It was all she had left.

Zack packed up his kit. One of the paramedics came by and gave him the IV bag of blood product he had signalled for. He checked to make sure it was typed right then clipped an AG unit to it. The bag floated about two meters from the floor trailing its clear tubing. He put a needle on it then slid it into Yuri's ankle.

That done he nodded to Major Forest and left. There were other people to treat.

* * *

Kei watched as the plane climbed into the sky. She hoped it had enough fuel to make it. The turbo fans would run as long as the fusion generator worked but they were less effective at higher altitudes where the air was too thin. Since there was nothing she could do any longer she turned and headed to the terminal.

The doors were unsealed so she didn't have to climb a wall to get through the window she had exited from.

She stepped into the terminal, flashed her ID at a security official and bypassed the people searching everyone who had come off the plane.

"Don't worry," some one said from behind her. "You're going to be fine."

She turned to find a young man with a medical scanner. He ran the scanner over her then called for a stretcher.

"What are you doing?" Kei asked him.

"Don't worry. We're going to take care of you." He placed his hands on Kei's shoulders and tried to push her down on the stretcher that had been brought up.

"Who's going to take care of you?" Kei twisted out of his grasp. "Just dress it and give me a stimulant to keep me on my feet for an hour or two."

Zack looked at the redhead then down at his med scanner. Internal bleeding, possible liver damage, gun shot wounds, and some shock. Yet she didn't look that bad. He clipped the scanner to his belt and opened his kit.

"You wouldn't happen to know a very attractive woman, black hair, blue eyes and just as stubborn as you?" He pulled out a dressing.

"So where is Yuri?" Kei raised her arms so he could work.

"I'll take you to her, soon as I'm done."

* * *

"We're supposed to hold orbit?" Captain Fawn Celsore asked. She was surprised at the request.

"That's what they said." Her co-pilot looked up.

"Why?"

"They didn't say."

"Great, what about this huge window they've cleared for that Boeing 33SSSP?"

"They didn't say."

"Great. It appears we have to wait because some big wig wants a nice clear window ten times bigger then necessary. Screw them." Fawn opened up a panel on the control board and pulled out chipboard. She rapped it against the board then replaced it. "I think we're having radio problems. We'll go through with landing procedures as our last message said."

"Yes ma'am." Her co-pilot was smiling. They had done this sort of thing before and he was not worried.

The twelve huge engines on the delta winged space plane flared and the ship began to cut into atmosphere."

* * *

Penn Sander watched as one of the passenger craft began re-entry. He looked at the clock on his control panel. He had ten more minutes to make delivery before he was late. The only way his small free trader could compete with the big lines was by offering the best service. He promised all deliveries on time.

He shut off his radio and tapped the controls on his board. He would pay the damn fines, it was more important that he keep his clients' trust.

The rectangular, stream lined, free trader's thrusters lit up with a dull blue glow and followed the other ship.

* * *

Captain Doug Bishop was flying his first command flight. He watched as the passenger space plane began to move. It belonged to a rival line, which was what really made him want to defy control's orders. He also wanted to make touch down exactly as scheduled if not sooner. He shut off the radio.

"Clark, make sure that something is wrong with coms once we touch down." He looked at his engineer who nodded. "Diane, give me a course that keeps up from getting too close to that 3SP that's coming up."

"Right," Diane said as she began to plot the course.

"Ready Cath?" he asked his co-pilot.

"Always."

"Let's go."

* * *

Space control did not immediately realize that three ships were heading down. By the time someone did and sent out a message about the explosives in the climbing ship the craft had shut their radios off. The chief controller thanked his gods that no other ship was trying to make re-entry and then sent a message to the ground control to tell them what to expect. After that he choked down a hand full of antacid.

* * *

"So how's it going Yuri?" Kei crouched down beside her partner.

"Oh just perfect. Where's the plane now."

"My guess would be just getting over the ocean and beginning to climb."

"The Angel would be out in space by now." Stress and a bit of fear coloured Yuri's tone.

"True but this is a civilian craft. Thrust to weight ratio sucks majorly."

"How long till its in space?"

"Around ten minutes I think, but I'm not sure. Can you hold out?"

"Maybe."

"You could trigger it now. It's over water."

"What if they loaded it with chemical or bio-weapons. It would be safer if it was in space just in case."

"You can do it."

"I hope so."

Kei didn't say anything else. She stood back and let Yuri concentrate on her work.

* * *

A young woman ran up to Major Forest and began talking softly to him. Kei got up and joined the small crowd that had gathered.

"What's happening?" The redhead asked as she pushed aside one of the aides so she could get close to the new comer.

"Three craft entered the launch window of the bomb plane two minutes ago," the woman told Kei, assuming she had the authority to receive an answer.

"How long till intercept?" she asked quickly.

"Two minutes."

"Damn."

"Can't you get them on radio?" Forest asked angrily.

"None of the craft are responding. If they were reading us they'd get clear."

Kei turned and went back to Yuri's side.

"We got problems."

"That's news?" Yuri's voice was strained.

"Three ships entered the window I cleared. Considering the amount of explosives and the EMP generators on that place, well, it would be bad for them if that thing blew up."

"How long."

"About a minute and a bit until they intersect, say about a minute for them to clear the primary danger area."

"I'm not sure I can hold this thing that long." Yuri's eyes stung from the sweat that ran into them, her muscles were cramping up, her hand was beginning to throb along the knife wound and the typing she was doing was not helping.

"Try." Kei placed a hand on Yuri's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Excuse me," Satoo said as he crouched down beside Kei. He was holding a set of tools.

"What do you think you doing?" Kei demanded

"I'm going to pull some chips."

"You think so?" The threat in Kei's voice was obvious.

"Yes he does," Major Forest said, his service automatic pointed at her.

"United Galactica law seventy four, section three pertaining to 3WA agents, I out rank you Major," Kei told him.

"Only if you were here at our request. Satoo is going to pull those chips, which will slow that computer down so much that it will no longer be a threat. He's under my orders, so you're interfering with an appointed law officer of this planet."

Kei considered taking him out but pushed the thought aside almost instantly. She moved back and gave Satoo room to work.

"My partner and myself are officially going on record as being opposed to this course of action," Kei said. When in doubt, cover your ass, she thought.

"Duly noted," Forest told her.

"I wouldn't do that," Yuri whispered as Satoo opened the service panel on the computer.

* * *

Fawn watched as her instruments showed her even with the other plane. She was on the very outside of the window and didn't worry about the turbulence she was creating interfering with that plane.

She pushed the throttles all the way forward once they were past and rocketed towards the city far below.

* * *

"I don't care what you would do." Major Forest yelled. "Do it Satoo."

He reached into the computer with a micro-waldo and quickly pulled out six chips. Yuri felt a slight shaking as he worked but nothing bad. A cold fear was growing in her stomach. Fools, she thought, but she didn't have the energy to be really angry.

* * *

Penn barley noted the other ship as he passed it. He was watching the clock, calculating his arrival time down to the second. He passed the plane, slowing down slightly as he came even with it and then accelerating again.

* * *

"Oh hell," Yuri said as she began to work faster.

"What?" Satoo asked, alarmed.

"This thing just crashed. It's dedicating its full resources to hard wired functions, specifically analyzing my blood."

"What are we going to do?" Satoo's voice held anguish in it. Major Forest had paled. Kei resisted the urge to say I told you so.

Yuri ignored it all. She couldn't keep it from analyzing her blood now but maybe she could make it read what she wanted.

* * *

Doug had to cut his craft's speed; they were too close to the other ship to go by fast. He swore as the other plane flew by at full throttle, its engine wash shaking his plane. Bastards, he thought as he reached down and pulled his throttles back. Diane had screwed up, but he should have double-checked her course. It was his responsibility.

* * *

"It's doing blood type." Kei looked over Yuri's shoulder. "What do you know, he's A positive also. Now what are the odds the DNA markers will match?" Kei had given up; they had tried their best only to be sabotaged in the end by an idiot. She looked back at the small computer screen. "I don't believe it," she breathed, "everything is matching up."

Yuri worked as fast as she could, substituting data as she blocked the analyzer. She was so close, but then it fell apart, the stress, the wounds, the damage Satoo had done, it all conspired against her.

"So close." Yuri mouthed the words.

"No," Kei growled. The screen flashed red as the computer detected the discrepancies.

'DETONATION PROGRAM ACTIVATED. SIGNAL SHUT OFF,' printed across the screen. 'EXPLOSIVES DETONATED,' Printed out a few moments later.

BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK

"What the hell was that?" Fawn asked as something shook her plane. Several systems went down, but only for a moment. A few of the redundant systems came online.

"Sensors report what has to be an explosion and an EMP, no radiation though," her navigator told her.

"Damn. All right, get the com back up and find out what's happening. I think we goofed. Any damage?"

"None," her engineer said.

"Thank heaven for small favours. Let's get this bird down."

* * *

Penn hardly noted the explosion. All his systems were shielded from EMPs and his small spacecraft had been built to withstand forces greater then that blast. He nodded at his sensors as they told him what had happened and then turned his radio on. He looked at the clock and factored the new occurrence into his ETA. He would still be on time.

* * *

Doug Bishop felt as if a giant hand had slapped his plane. The systems that were not shut down by the explosion's force were crashed by the EMP. Most of the back ups were taken out also.

"What the hell." He barley heard himself over the screamed reports of his crew. "Quiet," he demanded. "Diane, what happened?"

"I'm not sure, sensors have all shut down."

"Clark, what can you tell me?"

"We're in bad shape Captain. Most systems are down for good. We've lost structural integrity, engines have cut out, and I think half of the starboard wing is gone."

"Okay." Doug reached forward and tapped a code into the computer. "Clark, jettison passenger compartment."

The engineer nodded and tapped a code into his own terminal and reached up, grabbing a ring above his head. He pulled down on it, putting a great deal of strength into it, knowing the force of the passenger compartment blowing free would cause what was left of the plane to disintegrate. The passengers and flight stewards would live. The flight crew would die.

Nothing happened.

"Jettison system failure," Clark said.

"What? Jettison systems never fail." Doug almost panicked then and there before forcing himself to be calm. "Okay how long to blow the charges manually?"

"I'm not sure if it can be done." Clark wiped the perspiration from his head. "Twenty minutes at least."

"Too long. Okay here's what we do. Clark work on the jettison program, see if you can bring it back up. Cath get our flight systems back up. Diane you help her. I'll work on everything else. If we can get enough things functioning again we'll pull it up, go into a low orbit within the atmosphere. From there we'll work on the blowing the passenger compartment free and someone might be able to arrange a rescue."

"Yes sir," They all said, nearly at once.

Doug began to work, trying to bring the secondary systems back up. It could be worse he thought. At least they were not in a flat spin or anything like that. They had a chance.

"You know this is going to take at least five minutes," Catherine told him, not looking up from her terminal. "Will we have enough time?"

"It will be close," he told her after considering the speed they had been travelling at and local gravity. "Very close."

* * *

Yuri pulled the interface cable from the socket behind her ear, let it fall across the body beside her. She turned a scathing look at Forest but he did not see it as his attention was focused on other things.

"What's happening?" he demanded of the woman from the tower.

"We don't know." The woman held a hand over the headset she was wearing. "The explosion is playing havoc with communications."

Yuri pushed herself off the floor. Kei helped her stand.

"I liked this outfit." Yuri looked down at the blood soaked clothes, the rips and tears.

"We'll send a bill to the SBG," Kei told her.

Yuri smiled and then walked toward the huge windows of the terminal, the floating IV bag was pulled along behind her. Her walk quickly steadied as blood flow returned to her legs. Kei followed her.

Yuri stopped by an emergency locker and tried the door. It was locked. She looked at the slot for the key card, her thoughts were moving sluggishly and she didn't know what to do.

"Let me." Kei said as she moved Yuri aside. She pulled out her pistol and blew the locking bolt with two quick shots. Several people screamed, many turned nasty looks at the redhead who had destroyed the tenuous peace. Kei ignored them and stepped aside to let Yuri open the locker.

Yuri pulled out a pair of image intensifiers from the locker, handed one set to Kei and kept one for herself.

They went to the widows and began searching the sky, looking for the craft they hoped would soon appear.

Others joined them, Major Forest, his aides, the woman from the tower who told them communications were still spotty. Zack took a spot between Kei and Yuri, spending more time watching them than the sky. He was afraid one of them would collapse any second.

Kei caught the flash of sunlight off a reflective surface. She nudged Yuri and both of them turned to face the approaching space plane. It looked fine and came in fast and under control. Kei watched with admiration as the pilot dumped speed and altitude flawlessly. The plane put down on the runway gently and rolled along to a far terminal.

"That's captain Celsore's plane," the woman from the tower said.

The small freighter came down close behind. The pilot switched to AG units and put the rectangular ship down right beside several trucks. Yuri smiled slightly as she noticed unloading of the ship began almost immediately. Business continued as normal.

Yuri turned her intensifiers back to the sky and caught sight of the third craft, another space plane. She heard several people thank whatever powers they worshipped glad that all ships had made it. Yuri was not among them.

She increased magnification until the picture she saw was almost entirely computer generated. The resolution was bad, but Yuri could tell the plane was heavily damaged. Its headlong dive was barely under control and she was certain the engines were not working.

She let the intensifiers fall and looked at Kei. Kei nodded at her, she had seen it too. Yuri pulled the intensifiers back up by the strap at her neck and returned to staring at the plane.

Kei used the small computer in the intensifiers to project a course for the plane. According to what computer presented the plane would crash about six kilometres from the city.

Movement at the edge of the landing fields caught her eye and she swung around to look.

Surface to air missile launchers had been deployed. Better to shoot down the plane then let it crash into the city. She was glad she was not at the trigger, tough job to shoot down a plane full of civilians.

* * *

"Engines ready. I think," Catherine said.

"Jettison system still down," Clark called out.

"Okay." Doug looked at his crew. "We'll try this the hard way. Positions."

He reached forward and ran the engine start up sequence. There was a pounding on the door behind them. He ignored it. A vibration ran through the plane. He nodded.

"Engines on," Clark called.

Doug set the braking thrusters to fire quick bursts every four seconds. He fought the urge to fire them right up to full power, in the ships condition that would tear them apart. He used the vernier jets and what control surfaces were left to start pulling the plane out its dive. It would be close, he knew, they would probably just miss clipping the highest structures on the arcology's roof.

"Engines in the red," Clark warned.

"Fix it." Doug yelled.

* * *

"They're beginning to pull up," Major Forest shouted.

Kei and Yuri turned to look at the plane again, watching it slowly begin to level out. The plan was beginning to shake slightly. Yuri guessed that some of the engines were not producing consistent thrust. It would be tough to fly the plain until the flight crew compensated. Still, things were not necessarily lost.

Then two engines on the port wing exploded.

"It's going to hit the city now," Kei said. It had climbed just enough to put the city in its path.

She and Yuri turned to look at the SAM launchers. They saw the missiles climb out of their launchers towards the approaching plane.

"It's too late," Yuri said. "They won't have time to lock on."

The missiles missed the plane by only meters. By the time they slowed and turned it would be much too late.

Every one watched as the plane sped towards them. Then it was blocked from their view by the city. They felt the tremor as it crashed some where below them.

* * *

Kei and Yuri ignored the alarms, the rushing panicking people who failed to realize they were not in any danger. They left the terminal and headed to the small space plane that sat waiting for them.

The passenger space plane had crashed into the fourth level, setting fires on the third and fifth as it ploughed deep into the fourth level's centre. The damage would likely be contained to those tiers.

They had almost reached their plane when Zack came running up to them.

"What do you two think you're doing? You should be in a hospital."

"The Valkyrie will have a more than adequate sick bay," Yuri said.

"Well what about Forest, he'll want to debrief you and he won't be the only one."

"Forest is an idiot and we have no time for idiots. As for the rest, they can reach us through 3WA," Kei told him.

"There's no reason for us to stay." Yuri kept her voice gentle for she liked the med tech.

Zack nodded after a few seconds.

"Take care then. I got to run, work down on the fourth level." He turned and ran off towards an emergency crash transport.

"Nice guy." Yuri turned to tap the opening code into the panel beside the hatch.

"I suppose." Kei stepped back to let the stairs unfold from the plane.

"Do you think we'll get in trouble for this?" Yuri climbed into the plane.

"Why?" Kei turned in the hatchway to watch the smoke rise from the levels below. "It wasn't our fault." She sealed the hatch.


End file.
